An enduring love KING CHARLES & CANADA

Marking his first visit as monarch, Hello! looks back on Charles's travels across our 'remarkable country'

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From the icy shores of Resolute Bay to the roaring crowds on Parliament Hill, King Charles has long shared a bond with Canada that transcends the formalities of monarchy. Eclipsing duty and ceremony, it's a connection that is both personal and profound. As Charles returns for his 20th visit - this time as King and amid his courageous cancer battle - he will once again be embraced in the land he's described as “a truly remarkable country...that has always welcomed me with such warmth.” Here, we reflect on a royal relationship 55 years in the making.

‘I HAVE NEVER FORGOTTEN THE WARMTH OF THE WELCOME FROM THE INUIT PEOPLE’ Charles

1970s: A FIRST TASTE OF CANADA

The great Canadian adventure got underway in 1970, when Prince Charles, who had just become the first British heir apparent to graduate from university (Cambridge, no less) - boarded a plane to Toronto, where he was greeted by hordes of excited fans, many of them women and girls. Even before his visit, the 21-year-old future King’s wit, charm and dashing looks had earned him the title of “the world’s most eligible bachelor,” and his demeanour did not disappoint.

In Ottawa, he took to the dance floor with Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau's niece and was introduced to Julie Maloney, who had been crowned Miss Canada. Being Charles, he couldn't resist a quip. As she later told the Ottawa Citizen: “Prince Charles said to me, ‘Miss Canada! Is it your job to go about the world peddling maple syrup?”